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Nikki Haley says Russia was ‘certainly’ involved in US election

LiveMint 02-04-2017Ros Krasny

Washington: The US envoy to the United Nations says she’s maintaining a hard line against Russia, even as her boss—President Donald Trump—continues to dismiss reported Russian involvement in the 2016 US election as fake news.

“Certainly I think Russia was involved in the election. There’s no question about that,” Nikki Haley said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” broadcast on Sunday, according to a transcript provided by the network.

Haley, a former Republican governor of South Carolina, made her first Sunday-show appearances since becoming the nation’s top diplomat at the UN as the US prepared to take over the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council.

As recently as Saturday, Trump derided investigations into Russia’s involvement with the 2016 election and members of his campaign team as “the phony Russia story. A total scam!”

Yet Haley said she and Trump are “both saying the same thing”’ on Russia. “It’s just being reported differently.” Once the information comes out, “I expect that will be handled accordingly,” Haley said, without providing more specifics on actions the US may take.

Haley, 45, said Trump is letting her chart her own path at the UN. “He is not stopping me from beating up on Russia. He’s not stopping me from talking about the pressure that China needs to be putting on North Korea,” she said.

Haley said that the new US administration has “beat up on” Russia about its invasion of Crimea, although her predecessor, Samantha Power, did so regularly, and the Obama administration imposed sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine.Bloomberg